Make the perfect pick on a fishing charter and your angling experience will be awesome.
Whether you’re an experienced angler looking to gain new knowledge, a casual angler who wants to make an unusual catch, or you don’t fish yet but think it might be fun (you’re right!), booking a fishing charter is an option you’ll be considering. And here on the Chesapeake Bay we have choices—lots and lots of choices—when it comes to charters and guides.
How will you know which captain and boat to pick? Our first bit of advice is to check out FishTalk's Chesapeake Bay and Mid-Atlantic Charter Fishing Guide. When you see an operation listed there, you know they’re helping to support the recreational fishing community here in Chesapeake country and that they cater to folks just like you. Beyond that, these five tips will match you up with the right service whether you want to learn a year’s worth of angling knowledge in one day or just have an afternoon of fun.
1. Make sure the style of fishing that will take place is something you enjoy.
It’s all too common for someone who wants to cast, reel, and jig to end up on a boat that’s trolling all day—even if it’s a tactic they have no interest in. On the flip side of the coin, you might want to learn how to troll but instead find yourself tossing topwater lures. You can get some idea of how a boat usually fishes from the service’s website but remember that methods and styles change with the seasons, and many charters will use one tactic or target one species one day and do something different the next. The only way to make sure the trip will fit your expectations is to have a conversation with the captain and talk about the different options they can present you with. Such a conversation also gives you a chance to get a feel for whether the captain’s personality will mesh with your own, and since you’ll be on a boat together all day long, you do want to make sure he or she is someone you can get along with.
2. Choose the captain, not the boat.
As we just said, you want to be sure you’ll get along well together, and you can have a load of fun (and catch a ton of fish) on an aging old scow of a boat. But if there’s friction between the captain and the crew, it doesn’t matter how nice the boat might be; you won’t be in for a good time. Having a phone conversation with the captain should be considered the bare minimum form of contact, and if possible, it’s a great idea to swing by the marina and meet the captain and/or crew in person prior to booking.
3. Don’t look for the cheapest charter and do second-guess boats that are available lots of weekend days on short notice.
The price of a charter varies by the boat, location, duration of the trip, and the reputation of the captain, but if you choose solely because they’re cheap, you’ll likely get what you pay for. Meanwhile, most good charters are booked for the prime days well in advance. Just how booked up they are naturally changes as demand for charters ebbs and flows, but if someone’s priced well below all the competition yet is also available on every weekend day for the next month, you should be wondering why that’s the case.
4. Consider trying a “walk-on” (but only if appropriate).
Most people gather a crew and book an entire boat, but some captains offer walk-on trips where they assemble a crew and each individual pays his or her own way aboard. This is always a bit of a gamble since you don’t know who you’ll be rubbing elbows with, but it’s also far less expensive than booking the entire boat. Plus, individual slots may be available on short notice. It’s a great way to get aboard for a low cost or on the spur of the moment. Note, however, that this generally isn’t an awesome option for beginners. You might not get much help, and if you end up seasick or tired, turning around and going home won’t be an option.
5. Always clarify ahead of time if the trip is catch-and-keep or catch-and-release.
You might hope to take home dinner, and charters are generally happy to oblige, but plenty of trips take place purely for the thrill or when harvest season is closed. In some other cases you might want to let go of the bucket-list fish you just caught, but it gets tossed in the cooler anyway. And remember that on catch-and-keep trips some charters will clean the catch for you (tipping the mate well is expected!) while others don’t consider filleting fish to be part of the deal.
What’s all this boil down to? Clear pre-trip communication is key, so you know exactly what to expect from the captain and crew, and they know exactly what sort of experience you’re hoping for. So, talk it up, choose carefully, and chances are you’ll be in for a great day of fishing.
Charters vs. Guides
While there aren’t any official definitions differentiating charters from guides, there are some differences between these two similar but distinctly different fishing services. Most charters take place on relatively large boats (usually over 30 feet) which operate with a captain and one or more mates. You can expect the mate to do most of the work, especially when it comes to setting out the lines and baiting the hooks, and the tactics most commonly used are trolling and bottom fishing.
Guides, on the other hand, usually run smaller boats and generally don’t have a mate. You’ll be expected to tie on the lures and make the casts yourself if you can, although the captain will certainly lend a hand to beginners. Lighter tackle used for casting and jigging is the norm; some guides offer fly fishing excursions as well, and as a rule they’re more flexible if there’s a style or tactic you’d like to try.
Another Note About Captains
There aren’t nearly as many female captains as male ones, but when presented with the option of fishing with a female captain, it’s usually a good move to jump at the chance. We don’t want to sound like we’re reverse-sexists, but it’s a simple fact that women generally must work harder and do better to prove themselves as captains. So, those that make it in the charter industry are almost always first rate. Added bonus: they tend not to yell as much when you lose a fish or tangle a line.
Check out FishTalk's Charter Fishing Guide for a list of local charter captains by region.
By Lenny Rudow